Dreams Made of Milkshakes
by Rika Tone
Summary: Mayuzumi has begun dreaming of paradises, only to find a certain problematic teen make his way into them. Pleasant dreams are far away.
1. Chapter 1

The area around him wasn't his school. Shouldn't people dream up of their school, or at least schools they've attended? Kuroko shook his head, ridding himself of those trivial thoughts. It wasn't that odd, it just looked like any other high school, except it definitely wasn't Seirin.

He was in a school hallway, somewhere on the second floor, judging by the classroom number signs. It was nice though, the dream was more vivid than his usual dreams, which were blurred or never remembered. The atmosphere was nice as well, with a beautiful morning sunshine streaming through the many windows to his right. Kuroko tilted his head towards the windows, breathing in the clean breeze that drifted in.

"Why are you here, of all people?" a voice said, in barely controlled scorn.

Oh no.

Kuroko blinked, turning to face an unfriendly visage of the silver eyed Rakuzan senior. He stared at a loss of words, wondering himself. Why would Mayuzumi appear in his dreams?

Waiting irritably with no reply, Mayuzumi sighed and spun away. "Whatever, just stay out of my sight," then he proceeded to walk away in the direction he came from.

Kuroko was about to stop him and ask where exactly he was, but thought twice and stopped himself. Who needed a snarky senior? Not him. Plus, this was a dream. Most of the time, you never got a setting you understood. Kuroko didn't know what his problem was with the senior, but everything about him rubbed Kuroko the wrong way. It didn't help that after the Winter Cup finals, they parted on less than cordial terms.

_'An aversion to your own kin…'_ Kuroko thought back to Takao's words fleetingly, and looked back outside, deciding to just enjoy the view.

* * *

Mayuzumi was in a bad mood.

Of all people to come and disturb his dreams, it had to be the old model of the Phantom Sixth man, with a penchant for turning basketball games into absolute chaos.

For a while now, the senior had been experiencing lucid dreams that he took full advantage of, and used as huge stress relief. With the loss of Rakuzan at the Winter Cup, Akashi only took it a step farther and doubled their regular training menu. He no longer had time for leisure and to enjoy his light novels. He didn't know how he did it, but his brain managed to not only make new stories for him to enjoy, but conjured up panoramas of the environment around him. With a little brain power, he would be able change the location in his dreams. Oddly enough, these dreams started after the Winter Cup, so it was almost like these dreams were made to combat Akashi's training regimen.

What he didn't expect was a certain blue haired nuisance to come strolling in. Quiet as he may be, he was still trespassing.

Why can't he read in peace for once? His own mind was turning against him now.

He sighed once again as he reached the roof, pulling out a light novel from his uniform's back pocket.

Looking out towards the scenery viewed from the roof, he let a content smile stretch on his face. He walked closer to the chained fence blocking anyone from falling off, and peered down below. He admitted he was surprised at what he saw.

Down below, instead of the regular courtyard of the school, there was a huge pool that stretched across. He couldn't tell from here if the pool ran into the building, but he didn't doubt it. Tiny colorful aquatic creatures swam around in the shimmering waters, other forms of marine life swaying deeper into the waters. It didn't appear too deep, maybe ten feet at most, but Mayuzumi really couldn't tell with a bird's eye view.

He was tempted to just dive from the roof, uniform and all, but he didn't have too much experience swimming, so it most likely wouldn't go _swimmingly_. He might also just crack his head open hitting the bottom of the pool.

He turned away from the beautiful sight, and lethargically sat down, leaning back against the chain link fence. Peering at the light novel's cover, he saw a picture of a girl in a battle stance materialize from a once blank cover. Not really his style, but he'll give it a try.

He opened up the book and began to read.

* * *

After getting rather bored of gazing outside the window, Kuroko had heard the quiet sound of running water below. He then noticed the huge pool that looked very out of place in the school courtyard, but was another wonderful sight nonetheless.

He immediately turned to walk briskly down the hallways, trying to find a set of stairs. Finding them, he realized these were the steps Mayuzumi had taken, so if he took the wrong way, he might end up meeting the senior again.

As much as Kuroko didn't want to confront him again, he decided that as long as they ignored each other, it'd be fine.

He descended the stairs quickly, surprising himself with how much vigor he had. Dreams usually weren't anything to get excited over, but to Kuroko, this was like a once in a lifetime opportunity. His dreams were never this vivid, and he wanted to take the chance to enjoy it.

Kuroko reached the bottom floor, shocked to see that the whole floor was submerged in about six inch deep water. He paused a few steps up from the bottom, taking the time to roll up his pants, take off his shoes and socks, and set them neatly in the corner of the steps.

He poked a toe in the water, testing the temperature. When he found that it was almost warm, he eagerly stepped in, and began to tread out towards the front doors.

Before reaching the doors, a little blue fish swam up to him, and Kuroko stopped to squat down and stare at its shimmering scales. He let a small smile grace his features, and stretched a finger down near the mouth of the fish. The creature nibbled at his finger.

He stood up, deciding to take off his gakuran. He walked back to the stairs, and folded it nicely before setting it down near his shoes. Rolling up his sleeves, he walked back to the fish and passed it, hoping it would follow.

Noticing that it did indeed start swimming after him, Kuroko pushed open the already slightly ajar doors to see a much deeper pool out front. It looked to be at least twice his height.

The blue fish swam past him and away, mixing in with fish in a variety of colors, all with different appendages and patterns adorned on their bodies.

It wasn't only fish though. There were frogs, turtles, starfish, and plants all in an assortment of colors. Trying to look down deeper through the water, Kuroko squinted to see slightly larger silhouettes down towards the bottom. He slowly inched himself in, not really wanting to get wet, but not wanting to miss this chance. He decided to go for it.

He first sat down at the ledge where the deep water began, and pushed himself off and began treading in the water. He heard squeaking sounds nearby, and curious as he was, he swam around a corner to see…

Otters?

There were three otters chattering animatedly, almost like they were engaged in a conversation.

Kuroko was hesitant to approach them, but realized it was too late when one otter noticed him and swam over itself. The others proceeded to swim away, diving underneath.

The less shy otter stared at Kuroko, and Kuroko found himself frozen under the otter's unwavering gaze.

The otter squeaked.

Kuroko blinked back. "Hello."

The otter dove underwater, as he gazed after the retreating figure of the animal. After a few moments, the otter resurfaced, holding a clam and rock. It floated onto its back, placing the clam on its belly and using the rock to smash the clam.

Kuroko watched in wonder, mesmerized to see such a phenomenon up close and personal.

The otter successfully broke open the clam, and proceeded to feast on it. Kuroko slowly inched closer, still watching with great scrutiny.

The otter chattered as it finished eating, and taking notice of Kuroko, held the empty clam for the blue eyed teen to take.

Surprised, Kuroko accepted the clam, inspecting its contents. No pearl, but it was clean without any traces of meat.

At that moment, the clam slipped out of his hands, as he was suddenly grabbed by the leg from underneath, which pulled him under.

Kuroko panicked, and began coughing, bubbles of air streaming out of his mouth. He attempted to resurface, needing oxygen. He kicked his bound leg, yet was pulled down further. He struggled, and managed to get a look at what was pulling his leg.

A large octopus had its tentacle wrapped around his leg, and no matter how much Kuroko struggled, he couldn't free himself. He managed to resurface with a panicked shout, and used this to his advantage to propel himself back down towards the octopus, kicking it in the head with his free leg.

The octopus let out a stream of black ink, releasing Kuroko from its hold. Kuroko fought for air, wasting no time in trying to swim back up. Having lost plenty of energy though, he found himself seeing a figure above the water before blacking out.

* * *

"Stupid," the silver eyed senior muttered, as he pulled himself and the younger teen's body out from the pool. He questioned to himself if he really even needed to save the brat. After all, this was a dream, right?

That's what he told himself, and he totally did not panic when he saw the blue haired Phantom Player get pulled under.

At least he had good hearing, and had noticed when the younger teen had begun swimming around below. Nonetheless, the brat always finds his way into trouble. First he lost his misdirection during their match, then he found his way into his dreams, then this.

He set Kuroko against the stairs, as he plopped himself down beside him, slightly drained from saving the younger's ungrateful ass.

…

He didn't have to perform CPR, did he?

Mayuzumi shook his head vehemently to one, get rid of the water in his hair, and two, to deny himself of ever touching lips with the other. Dear lord, _no_.

The senior sighed heavily, his eyes sliding over to the resting face of Kuroko. He already knew that his upcoming dreams would cease being peaceful altogether.

And he dropped his light novel in the pool, too.

* * *

A/N: I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened this ship reigned me in and took control ugh.

Before I claim anything, this is not completely my own idea. There was a Naruto fic I read in the past that had this idea. I never finished it, and I forgot the name. This will be pretty different from that one though.

I admit I had been planning this for a while but the tipping point was jarofclay42 (she was posting stuff on tumblr and I succumbed). Either way, thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Mayuzumi woke up feeling like the wind was knocked out of him. The very first detailed dream he had after the Winter Cup had come as a surprise. The events whilst dreaming could be remembered down to a T, novels and all. After experiencing that, he realized he had better memory sleeping than while awake, which was useful, but just didn't sit well with him. It wasn't too much of an issue though, he had heard of lucid dreaming before. Some people probably only experience lucid dreams.

What he didn't want was anyone coming in. Before Kuroko appeared, he was in a world of serene solitude. Just why were his dreams now torturing him as well?

He rubbed at his eyes with one hand, the other pushing back the sheets. At least he managed a decent amount of sleep. The bad part was the he felt wearier than usual. He woke up in the nick of time, a few minutes before his alarm normally went off.

Although he still didn't want to get up.

He flipped over to muffle groans in his pillow, already beginning to dread training today. Finally mustering up the energy to stand up, he dragged himself over to the window to noisily open it up and let fresh air filter in. Birds chirped merrily nearby, denoting that spring was right around the corner.

If only he was a bird. Then he wouldn't have to ever deal with bratty red heads and basketball idiots.

Look at him. He's contemplating becoming a bird bright and early in the morning. If this wasn't the epitome of pitiful, he didn't know what was.

Well, his kouhais never truly respected him. There was never a rude awakening when it came to that.

As his thoughts trailed down that road, he made his way towards the bathroom to wash up. Stretching and popping his neck, he reminded himself not to strain his neck so much while reading. Suspending it in one spot for a whole lunch period was a bad habit of his.

He turned on the faucet and began splashing cold water onto his face. While it did serve to wake him up, he regret that it brought memories of last night up forth. Sympathy never really suited him.

As he cranked off the faucet, he stared down the drain with his hands resting on the handles. _'Kuroko, huh...' _

Akashi had always said they were similar, but all he saw was a shitty basketball player who couldn't do anything independently.

Sure, Seirin had won the Winter Cup. It was wrong to say Kuroko hadn't contributed to their win. After all, he figured out how to counteract Akashi's Emporer Eye, which was a feat in itself. However, he would have not done so had Kagami not been in the Zone like Akashi.

No wait, that's not quite right.

Mayuzumi glared at his reflection, before he grabbed his toothbrush and towel.

It was because both Kagami _and_ Kuroko were there, fighting together as teammates.

It would be a lie to say that he didn't learn anything from Kuroko's example. Not only with controlling misdirection, but also grasping the concept of working towards a goal with your teammates, which was something Akashi ignored. But, he was guilty of that as well. He never rejoined the team with a plan to make friends. He knew he was a chess piece in Akashi's game, and nothing more than that. So it wasn't eye-opening that he didn't particularly care about victory.

Seirin was a prime example of a team's well-earned victory, worthy of cheer and celebration.

It would also be a lie to say that he didn't at least consider changing his morals to be more like Kuroko's.

Old habits die hard, though. Either that or he just didn't care enough.

But maybe this was why he didn't immediately quit the basketball club after their loss at the Winter Cup.

…Maybe this was also why Kuroko showed up. Either it was his brain attempting to balance out giving him the blessing of lucid dreaming, or it was reflecting the consequences of his decision to continue basketball. Most likely the latter, since he'd admit the younger teen had been crossing his mind as of late.

But what would his dreams do? Teach him a new lesson? He was going to make himself laugh at this rate.

And that was when the senior realized he was already dressed and finishing his breakfast, ready to go to another day of school. He tilted his head back, taking a deep breath.

He was thinking much too hard early in the morning. Maybe he should take up that idea of becoming a bird.

He sighed to himself, grabbing his keys.

As he opened the front door of his apartment, he turned back to stare at his empty home.

"I'll be going now," he said to no one in particular.

* * *

"Are you okay, Kuroko?" Kagami turned around in his seat before the start of school, having slowly gotten used to being aware of his teammate's presence. "You look like shit."

Kuroko stared sleepily at the red head, blinking a few times to rid himself of any attempt to catch some Z's. He didn't think the bags under his eyes were evident enough, but Kuroko guessed that Kagami took note of his slightly more disheveled hair. He didn't manage to tame his bedhead this morning.

Had he felt more sarcastic, he would've said something along the lines of, "Thank you for your input, Kagami-kun," but today, it was just "…I'm fine, Kagami-kun."

Kagami stared at him, unimpressed. What a blatant lie. "Did you have nightmares or something?"

Kuroko pondered pinching himself to stay awake, but forced himself to answer the other. "If you want to call it a nightmare, then yes."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that by Kagami-kun's standards, it would be a nightmare. You are easily scared of dogs, and my dream included quite a few."

Kagami grimaced, visibly offended. "Of course I wouldn't be scared! Nightmares about dogs are different than reality!"

"If it really was different, then you'd be calling them dreams instead of nightmares, Kagami-kun."

Kagami was about to retort, only to be cut off by the ringing bell. He grit his teeth in irritation, pointing an accusatory finger at his friend. He seemed to say, _'I'll get you next time!' _His face then briefly changed to something to that of worry, before turning back around to face the front.

Kuroko sat down as well, amused at Kagami's antics, but all in all, appreciative that the other took the time to detect that something was off. He didn't mean to lie. Teasing the red head was just much too tempting. Sometimes he was a real Bakagami, but this time, Kuroko could only give a grateful smile to the back of a mop of red hair.

Filing through his book bag, he took out his notebook and pencil.

Kuroko had not meant to lose so much sleep. Usually upon waking up, he could recall any possible dreams he had that night, only to start forgetting bits and pieces within the first hour. It wasn't something he minded though. His dreams never were too coherent to begin with. They were typically banal, nothing even particularly worth remembering.

Which was why after experiencing a dream of that caliber last night, Kuroko could only toss and turn after regaining consciousness. He'd never been able to control his own movement at will while dreaming. All in all, last night was stressful. The events that transpired inside his head were imprinted deep, displaying across his eyes as he stared with an unfocused gaze at the ceiling. It was like a bad film stuck on repeat. It tortured him so that he was stuck wanting some much needed shut-eye, yet also wanting to avoid further nightmares. He never had anything against octopus before, but now he wasn't so sure.

In the end, he wasn't surprised when he only managed about four hours of sleep, and his eyes were more bloodshot than they had ever been in years.

He managed to easily hide any traces of a late night with eyedrops, but by using time to rummage through all his cabinets for them, he forgot he needed to tend to his terrible hair.

It didn't help his already worn out brain that he was confused on why Mayuzumi could've possibly shown up in his subconsciousness. He didn't even usually dream of anyone. Sometimes, but rarely, people from Seirin made a cameo. He couldn't fathom any reason why a senior from another school, that he only met once, would make his grouchy way into his first lucid dream.

At least he behaved like the senior would. Mayuzumi with an amiable personality would've made Kuroko uncomfortable. He would've probably even hid in the nearest trash can just to avoid him. Thank god for his low presence.

Wait.

Kuroko stopped jotting down notes from the teacher's lesson.

The two weren't correlated in some way, were they?

He didn't count on it, although it was almost scary when he realized he could control his actions in a dream at the same time he started dreaming of Mayuzumi. Just what was his mind trying to tell him?

He really didn't have enough energy to think whether this was a sign or a mere coincidence, though.

As the teacher droned on about a lesson, Kuroko struggled to retain awareness. With his chin resting on his palm, Kuroko fell into a deep sleep.

Invisible he may be, Kagami being seated in front of him was a blessing in more ways than one.

* * *

As Mayuzumi sat in class trying to pay attention to the teacher's lecture about making the right choices after graduating high school, he found his thoughts focused on anything but school related.

'_Am I developing…narcolepsy?'_

He mentally cursed as his eyes drooped, head slipping from his fist again for the fourth time in thirty minutes.

This was getting ridiculous.

Having already felt drowsy upon waking up this morning, he'd made sure to get a healthy breakfast and some coffee. Coffee was not supposed to make you sleepier. He's definitely never been this drowsy in his life, even on the nights he nearly pulled an all-nighter for homework.

He hoped this wouldn't become permanent. He really did not need more problems arising just on the verge of entering a university.

'_Damn it…I give up,' _was his only thought as he succumbed.

* * *

Yeah, no.

Mayuzumi wondered if he held his breath, he could suffocate to wake himself up. It'd be better than going through all this again.

He ended up in a lush forest area this time, with plenty of sunlight streaming through the leaves as they swayed gently in the wind. While the sunlight illuminated everything beautifully, it was not eye achingly bright, but comfortable. The air was cool, with the smell of summer being right around the corner. He could hear water running in the distance. A waterfall, maybe?

But what caught his eye first was the familiar baby blue haired brat in the distance. He was facing away on a tire swing attached to an exceptionally large tree. The tree branched out wide, and could have almost substituted for a canopy. The roots were also thick, jutting out from underneath and curling across the hill the tree grew upon. The hill looked manmade, for there was an identical one across it, a pathway paved in between to separate the hills. Mayuzumi had entered the dream facing the pathway, a cozy looking cabin behind him.

The Seirin freshman continued swinging, not having noticed that the senior had arrived.

To be honest, it almost surprised Mayuzumi on how easily he spotted Kuroko. Shouldn't he have at least had a bit of trouble? He wasn't standing out very much, but wasn't his presence even smaller than his own?

Well, that wasn't important right now. What he needed to decide was whether to escape when he had the chance, or confront the other.

He didn't find talking to Kuroko to be very preferable. And honestly, he didn't care much about socializing here. He shouldn't care, since his actions here wouldn't affect the real world.

Exploring was more tempting, but he'd have to sneak by in order to get anywhere. He patted his back pocket for any light novel.

Nothing.

He tsked. What if he tried to make a light novel? This was a dream, after all.

Holding his hand out, Mayuzumi closed his eyes and focused like when he willingly changed the scenery. First, he'd try and make a book.

He felt a weight drop into his hand. Peeking open one eye, a blank, white book was found in his hand. Nice. Now to imagine a cover and let his brain do the rest of the work…

"What are you doing?"

Oh, he should've expected this. Take your eyes off the original Phantom Player and it's like he teleports.

Mayuzumi ignored him. Maybe if he stood like a statue, the other would leave him alone.

"Please do not ignore me, Mayuzumi-san."

Mayuzumi finally opened his eyes, glancing at Kuroko. _'Happy?' _he thought.

"I saw you form that book out of nowhere. May I ask how you did that?" Kuroko turned ever blank eyes at the book, but Mayuzumi noticed genuine interest.

"May I ask why you want to know?" he shot back with a clipped, forcefully polite tone.

The younger teen's eyes narrowed the slightest bit, obviously not liking the senior's attitude. "I think it would be useful to know."

Mayuzumi turned suspicious. Why would Kuroko want to know, if he was already part of his dreams? Shouldn't he already be able to do that himself?

Reluctantly, he gave in. "Focus on trying to make it by picturing it in your mind," he demonstrated his instructions, and a cover appeared on the book. "That's how I do it." _'And leave me alone.' _He wanted to add as an afterthought.

Kuroko blinked. He wasn't expecting for the senior to actually tell him. He seemed much too centered on his own interests to actually consider helping others. Kuroko dismissed it, instead just attempting it himself.

He focused like the other had said, and wondered on what he could create. Vanilla milkshake, or a novel?

Vanilla milkshake, always.

Focusing hard to picture a cold, freshly made glass of milkshake, he didn't notice the temperature slowly dropping, until he felt a clonk to the head.

"Kuroko."

Kuroko blinked rapidly, slowly taking in his surroundings. He made a questioning sound, rubbing at his eyes.

"You fell asleep, idiot. What would you have done if the teacher realized?" Kagami's face held a hint of disapproval, bordering on nervous.

"…Then Kagami-kun would've woken me up, just like he did now," Kuroko sleepily replied, although feeling a bit more refreshed.

"I'm not here to help you sleep!"

Kuroko's lips turned up a fraction. "I'm still grateful that you warded off any punishments by the teacher for me, Kagami-kun."

Kagami froze, before stuttering out, "Sh-shut up, how'd you even know?"

A pair of baby blue eyes shined knowingly.

* * *

That was weird.

Apparently his own method of changing the environment didn't quite work the way it did with Kuroko. Mayuzumi didn't know what the other was trying to make, but he was sure the other wasn't trying to drop the temperature around them.

Little frozen ice shards now were beginning to melt on the forest floor, and the temperature was slowly reverting back to normal. Mayuzumi had called for Kuroko to stop, but the other was lost in his own world, unknowingly freezing the air around him. In the end, he threw his light novel and hit the other in the head, and Kuroko had vanished immediately.

That was the weird part. Why did Kuroko disappear like that?

Though right now wasn't really the time to mull over dream events. He had to wake up or else he'd probably sleep through his next period.

Mayuzumi pulled at his cheek.

* * *

**A/N: **Oh boy, I hope I'm not making Mayuzumi too out of character. I realized when I first wrote this, he sounded a bit too much like Hyuuga, whoops. Chapter was pretty hard to write, as I had to describe how both of them trying to figure out what the dreams might be doing.

Anyway, I'm sorry this chapter doesn't have much interaction. This was to focus on sorting out issues and reveals a bit about the dreams and how they work. I will assure you guys that the dreams will become...more interesting, lol.

Finally, if you have the time, please suggest locations that should appear in the dreams. I might pick yours if I find it suitable!

Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Holy crap, I didn't think I'd get so many supporters, thank you guys! Thank you to Feynelle-san, Swtazngrl5, Kagamine Hikari, and Bashy Bunny for reviewing! I'm sorry this is rather late, I've recently started summer break, but I'm busier than ever. This'll probably be the last chapter before I start updating irregularly. But not too irregularly, I hope, just until miraclesweek on tumblr (6/22).

I drew a cover for this story, hope it's okay!

By the way, if KagaKuro friendship isn't your thing, you might wanna turn back now. I promise that this will be as much KagaKuro I'll make in this story, though.

* * *

"What is common in all these dreams is obvious. They completely satisfy wishes excited during the day which remain unrealized. They are simply and undisguisedly realizations of wishes." –Sigmund Freud, _The Interpretation of Dreams_

* * *

"Kuroko-kun!"

Kuroko straightened up from his stretched position, tilting his head to face his coach, Riko. With a clipboard in her hand, a pencil in another, she asked, "Have you been getting enough rest lately?"

Ah. He almost forgot that Riko's specialty was recognizing physical performance output. There was no lying at this point. He thought she wouldn't have noticed or minded, though. After all, he felt that he did just as well during practice today.

"I didn't get as much sleep last night as I normally do, but it was only for one night," Kuroko continued stretching, wanting to get rid of the burn in his calves.

Riko paused to look down at her clipboard, examining it. "You may have not realized it, but your reaction time today was much slower. I just wanted to tell you that," she mulled something over in her head, biting her lip. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you lose sleep last night?"

Kuroko stiffened. He wanted to avoid any confrontation about the dreams altogether. Kagami had even asked about it again before the start of practice, but he managed to worm his way out of that one. Vaguely, he replied, "I was kept awake after experiencing a weird dream."

"Weird dream?"

He chose his words carefully. "It was…unsettling. It made me think about things I haven't noticed prior to it," while Kuroko tried to maintain an ever deadpan voice, he still had trouble finding a better word to describe it without going into detail.

His coach pursed her lips, not liking the answer. "Well, all right. Just know that if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here," her words were warmhearted, and held the utmost truth in them.

Kuroko blinked, not quite expecting such an answer, but did not go at all unappreciated. "Thank you, coach. I'll keep that in mind," while his face remained blank as always, Riko could still see the happiness in his eyes.

Riko nodded affirmatively before she turned away.

Kuroko wasted no time in continuing to stretch. Today had been a rather hard workout, and halfway he was about ready to collapse face first down on the floor again. But like always, he trudged on forward.

Today wasn't a good day to just trudge, though.

Because Riko had given him that recent feedback, Kuroko couldn't help but point fingers at his so called weird dreams. They were definitely out of the ordinary, that's for sure. And it looks like they'd be continuing, if his little nap during the morning was anything to go off of. He'd admit he liked the lucid dreams. He could just go without the extra package-namely person- though.

When he entered the dream world again, he felt almost too isolated. The scenery served as good distraction, though. The huge tree that looked to be out of a fairy tale, the long tire swing attached to it, and the all-around ambience of the forest was a sight to behold.

Something was missing, though. And Kuroko knew exactly what.

He just wanted to keep denying it.

After he had been lazily swinging on the tire swing and admiring the view for a good amount of time, a certain shift in the air could be felt. Kuroko had a good guess as to what it was, because the air suddenly felt more…complete, for a lack of a better term.

It took him a bit to locate the newcomer, which made Kuroko question if Mayuzumi's misdirection was getting better, or his observation skills were getting rustier, but he knew the latter couldn't be true.

It was impressive to see the senior make a book drop into his hands from thin air. And, being curious as he is, went on ahead to ask the other. There weren't consequences in dreams, so why not?

Even so, after Kuroko was rudely woken up by a hit on the head, he did feel more energized. Unfortunately, that energy only lasted about one hour before he became sleepy yet again.

Riko's training menu today drained him of the remaining energy, only to knock it back in full force after practice was over. Sometimes, Kuroko was grateful for her strict regimen.

"Hey, you've been avoiding my question all day. Just what exactly did you dream about?"

Baby blue eyes peered up at his taller friend walking alongside him. Kuroko didn't fail to see the hesitation on Kagami's face. Kagami really was like an open book, with important traits already highlighted on the pages for Kuroko to read. Well, it's now or never.

"Kagami-kun, what kind of dreams do you have?"

The redhead regarded Kuroko carefully. "I asked you first."

Kuroko stopped walking, turning to face the other square on. "I will tell you, even if you aren't willing to share. I'm wondering right now. As I said to coach earlier, I had an odd dream last night that kept me awake. I'd like to know what others undergo, since it's the first time I've been troubled over a mere dream."

Kagami raised a forked brow, even more intrigued now. "My dreams aren't anything I pay attention to. Most of the time, I don't dream. Or at least, I can't remember them. Other times I eat food, or even play basketball," a grin stretched on his face as he went on, and Kuroko could tell he was getting excited. Then he turned slightly sheepish. "I've slammed dunk my pillow on the floor a few times, though."

…

"Hu…"

Kagami's expression made a one eighty and turned resentful. "Oi! Don't laugh!"

"…It's just that…Kagami-kun can really be a basketball idiot," Kuroko paused to recompose himself from letting more laughter slip out.

"And you aren't?" the redhead jabbed back, but was smirking nonetheless.

"Please do not equate me down onto the same level as you."

"You little…" Kagami grit out menacingly, vein popping out. Grabbing ahold of Kuroko's head, he pulled him into a headlock. "You're a real pain, y'know that?" he growled out, tightening his hold on the other.

"That hurts, Kagami-kun," Kuroko said in his emotionless voice, letting a small smile flit across his face, not at all in pain.

Kagami merely grinned, pleased he could get a reaction out of the shorter one. With one last ruffle of light blue haired locks, he released the other. "Race you to Majiba!"

While Kuroko was startled, Kagami took the chance to take off towards the fast food restaurant, a burst of renewed vitality surging through him. Blue eyes stared at the retreating figure, eyes turning warm. Quickly, he collected the last of his energy, and chased after Kagami.

* * *

"Heeeh…so it's like that, huh?" said Kagami through a mouthful of cheeseburger.

"Yes," Kuroko clarified.

The shorter teen had just finished explaining his dreams to the redhead after waiting patiently for their orders to come. Kuroko had decided to leave out anything involving Mayuzumi in the dreams. After all, what was important here was why he was suddenly experiencing lucid dreaming.

As usual, Kagami had a mountain of burgers, while Kuroko had his shake. Though, one burger was on Kuroko's side of the table, as the big eater was set on having the other eat more. He'd sit here and wait just to get the other to eat if he had to!

Kagami chewed slowly, which was a first. He seemed to contemplate the information given to him, before he swallowed down another burger, crinkling up the wrapper.

"Well, I'm not the kind of person to ask about this, of course. Aquatic creatures last night, and then a forest area in class earlier? Why don't you try asking Midorima or something, this seems like something he'd be interested in," Kagami sat with a bored look on his face, idly playing with the wrapper in his hands.

"Midorima-kun may have an odd affinity for fortune, but this hardly applies here, Kagami-kun," Kuroko sipped his shake, reminding himself of the dream he had earlier today.

Red eyes darted across the restaurant, as if looking for something. Kagami made a humming noise, still pondering. Finally, an idea struck him, his eyes widening in revelation. "What about Momoi? She's good at analyzing things, right?" he seemed to rethink that choice, for his voice lost enthusiasm as he said, "wait, she's only good at analyzing things she's collected data on."

Kuroko stopped and looked up from his drink. He stared hard into red eyes as they shifted away, off put.

"What's it to you?" Kagami managed without stuttering.

"…That might be a good idea," blank blue eyes looked away, as his hands twitched to reach for his cell phone. "I'll think it over first, but that might work. Thank you, Kagami-kun."

"No problem…I guess?" His brow rose again, not sure if it really was a good idea. "If you contact her though, won't she want to use it as a chance for a date?"

"I don't mind if Momoi-san does take it that way. I will only ask for us to meet somewhere," Kuroko began unwrapping his own burger.

Kagami still regarded the other with a questioning look, but quickly dropped it as he realized what the other was about to do. "Wait, you're actually going to eat it without me forcing you?!" he pointed at the unwrapped burger.

"You bought it for me, after all," Kuroko stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The other sighed and shook his head. "Whatever. Just finish it," a subtle, but pleased smile made its way onto Kagami's face.

Kuroko dug in.

* * *

If Kuroko were any other person, he would have probably crashed ungracefully to the ground at his doorstep when he arrived home. He wanted nothing more than that, but he knew he'd just wake up with a headache from sleeping on the hard floor.

So instead, he dragged himself to his bed after dumping most of his things hastily at the foot of his bed. Too tired to do anything but just crawl under the covers, he briefly reminded himself to contact Momoi sometime, and clean up when it was morning.

And just like that, he was out like a light.

* * *

Not again.

Silver eyes observed his surroundings, noticing that once again, he fell asleep.

After practice, Mayuzumi had speedily made his way home, knowing he had a lot of work to do tonight. He had come home and immediately started on homework. However, towards about seven P.M., the heavy drowsiness he experienced earlier in class came back, attacking him when he least wanted it. It was a whole lot stronger this time as well, and before he knew it, his eyelids drooped shut.

He was back in the forest, atop another a ledge at a clearing. Except this time, a bright, almost luminescent crescent moon replaced the sun. It was huge, like it was pushed thousands of miles closer. The night sky looked to come from a painting, dyed with a mixture of blues, purples, and pinks. Stars glistened gold and pink, scattered to create a picture of a whole new universe in the heavens. A cluster of them was found strewn across, forming a cloud of stars. Some wisps of clouds were floating around, but were not enough to distract from the breathtaking sight. He wouldn't deny that it was beautiful, especially since the forest's environment looked much prettier at night. The whole forest was bathed in a calming bluish-purple hue. The temperature was cooler, the same soft breeze rustled through the leaves, cricket chirps replaced the songs of birds, and fireflies danced all around, illuminating darker areas of the forest.

To top it all off, the brat was nowhere to be found.

Mayuzumi tried focusing, and, surprisingly enough, was able to pinpoint the others location. Kuroko was somewhere deeper into the trees, probably exploring.

Although the last two times, Mayuzumi wanted nothing to do with the other, a new curiosity arose within him. Just how did Kuroko begin creating ice earlier?

The senior walked into the trees, reflecting on what transpired. First, he told Kuroko to focus on creating something. He didn't know what the other wanted, but it was a good guess to say it wasn't ice. He held out his hand, trying his own luck at making it. He scrunched his eyelids together, and pictured freezing temperatures, concentrated into one single point.

An ice ball the size of a baseball dropped into his palm. Mayuzumi tested its weight, registering that it was quite heavy. As he continued to walk through the trees, fireflies lit up a pathway for him, and he chucked the ball against a tree, smashing it against the trunk in an explosion of ice. He walked up the tree, examining it. It wasn't particularly tall or thick. There was a small crack forming, as if the ice ball had opened up a hole in the trunk.

_'What if I try freezing the tree?'_

Mayuzumi rubbed at his hand, warming it up a tad, then placed it against the bark, picturing ice like he did earlier. He opened one eye after feeling the ice forming underneath his palm. The ice spread outward from his hand, encasing the bark slowly, but surely. Soon enough, it reached the leaves, which steadily began frosting over.

He reached up to touch a leaf, which broke upon contact. He raised a brow, and pulled to easily crack off a branch. He waved it around, getting used to the weight. Could he make this a weapon?

He touched the tip of the branch, and pictured a blade forming in place of it. The branch cracked, shaping itself into a double edged sword. It looked sturdy, still frosted over with ice. Gripping the hilt, silver eyes narrowed in concentration as he gathered strength and swung the weapon. He shattered the ice on the tree and made a rather deep cut into the bark. The rest of the ice cracked, and the tree collapsed in on itself.

Mayuzumi took a slow breath, becoming aware that he was drained of energy. Cutting into a tree shouldn't be this difficult, so why was he so tired? He dropped the sword, putting his hands on his hips to help balance himself as he tried to catch his breath. He spared a glance at the sword, noticing it was still unblemished. Nevertheless, maybe he should take it easy.

He heard something shift in the shrubbery.

Mayuzumi tensed, as his silver eyes darted around for any signs of movement.

Something shuffled again, and then there was a series of retreating steps deeper into the forest.

Curious, Mayuzumi bent down to pick up his sword, steadying himself. He tried evening his breathing, before he took off in the direction of the fading sounds.

As he maneuvered through the thicket, branches, vines, and roots began clumping more frequently, obstructing the pathway and hindering his movement.

He hacked away at the offending tendrils, growing more and more agitated and weary.

Gritting his teeth, he gathered strength to make one final slice through the shrubs, and sprinted forward, noticing a clearing up ahead. Almost there…!

He tripped over a root that seemed to appear out of nowhere in the shadows, and he stumbled his way into the clearing. He only managed to stabilize himself by planting his sword in the ground. Wobbling, he kneeled down, taking huge gasps of air. It still struck him as odd that he was this exhausted. He could race across basketball courts like no tomorrow, so maybe his stamina was lower in dreams? If that was the case, then it makes sense. Sleep is for the purpose of recharging energy, not expending it. He really should watch it now, or else he'll find himself falling asleep in class more often.

"Ah."

Silver eyes looked up at the new voice, only to stop and stare almost comically at the odd sight.

_'What…is going on.'_

Kuroko sat at the foot of a small tree in the clearing, a field of a variety of flowers growing all around him. An antlerless deer stood, poised like it had been startled. A fawn peered out from behind their mother, also quivering a bit. A small waterfall calmly ran behind Kuroko, a lake pooling and forming a river that ran back into the forest.

But what really made Mayuzumi react in such a way was…

"Why do you have a flower crown on?"

Kuroko blinked, his expression unreadable. The crown was made of mainly kelp strands, but had a few lily petals woven in as well. He turned to the deer and her child, giving a reassuring smile, which they then took as the cue to relax and sit back down. Then he turned to the lake, and spoke in a calming voice. "There's no need to be shy, you can come out."

Mayuzumi stared, confused, before his eyes widened in awe.

The water churned, and it rose up to form a vague humanoid shape of a woman. A trident formed in her hands, the water giving way to reveal a sea green dress and flawless teal skin. The water spirit gave a pleasant sighing sound, as it spun the trident and hooked it behind her back. It turned what seemed to be its eyes at Mayuzumi, giving a shy smile.

Kuroko tilted his head up this time, with an almost nonexistent smile on his face. "All of you can come out as well."

Balls of light darted out from the trees, and Mayuzumi slowly walked closer to see they were not fireflies, but sprites.

The senior stepped carefully, not wanting to disturb the peace that had settled around him.

"To answer your question, the undine here made it for me," Kuroko clarified, as he went back to weaving what looked to be like another flower crown.

Mayuzumi looked at the other questioningly. "Undine?"

"The pretty water spirit behind me."

Said undine covered her face in her hands, thankful for the compliment.

Silver eyes still looked confused, albeit Mayuzumi gave a hesitant smile in spite of it. He paused to dig the sword in the ground, walking back as he had nothing better to do. A sprite came over to him, and he held his pointer finger out uncertainly. The shimmering fairy circled his finger, before landing on the tip like a butterfly.

The senior carefully sat down, finger still suspended for the sprite. More sprites came closer, floating indolently by him and Kuroko. His interest got the better of him, and he asked, "Just what exactly happened here?"

Baby blue eyes finally looked up at him. Kuroko plucked another flower beside him before answering the other. "I found this place after following the mother deer. After that, I befriended this dryad here."

Once again, Mayuzumi tilted a brow, puzzled. The sprite flew off his finger, and he put his hand down.

Kuroko pointed at the small tree they sat under, and Mayuzumi distinguished a woman in the branches for the first time, dangling by her feet. Her long, dark green hair was loose and hanging, her skin a reddish-brown like the bark of her tree. She had a carefree smile on, as she swung herself across one branch to another.

"From there, I met the undine, and the sprites began gathering around here. They were scared off the moment you made your entrance," Kuroko tone reflected amusement, and he turned to the undine. "Here, all done," he handed the well-crafted flower crown to the water spirit, giving a friendly smile.

Mayuzumi stared in wonderment as the undine accepted the gift graciously, immediately donning it on her head.

"Would you like one as well?" Kuroko asked as he started on another, two flowers already tied together.

The senior stared at him like it was some sort of bad joke, which it probably was. "I'll pass," Mayuzumi looked away, giving an uncomfortable smile.

The fawn made its way over to Mayuzumi, the mother still sitting beside Kuroko. It paused to stare at him, while he nervously stared back. Apprehensively, he reached his hand out for the fawn, and in turn, the deer licked it. Assured, the creature sat down next to him, resting its head on his leg.

"Why did you come rushing over here like that?" Kuroko idly said, attention still drawn to the craft in his hands.

Mayuzumi regarded the other listlessly, the energy spent earlier catching up to him. It didn't help that the mood was so tranquil, so quiet. After a moment of peaceful silence, he replied, "I was chasing something that I heard in the forest."

"I see. My guess is that you were tailing the deer that is resting on you now. I think it was actually looking for you, and sure enough, you chased after it."

"Is that so?" Mayuzumi lazily added.

A beautiful singing voice drifted through the air, and Mayuzumi, through his state of nonchalance, looked to see it was coming from the dryad, as she sat in an upright position this time, her feet swaying as she sang. It sounded familiar, yet the senior couldn't recall the song for the life of him. He leaned back, breathing in deeply and closing his eyes.

In his indulgence of the ambience around him, he at first didn't register footsteps and the sensation of a weight upon his head.

Peeking open a silver eye, he reached up and felt the crown placed there. Too apathetic at this point, Mayuzumi merely said, "I thought I told you I didn't want one," but had no bite to it.

"If you don't like it, you can take it off," was the peaceful reply, as Kuroko sat back down.

Mayuzumi gave a noncommital grunt.

He lost track of time as he sat in the field of flowers, soaking in the mellifluous voice of the wood nymph.

"…Mayuzumi-san, do you like the stars tonight?"

Both eyes peeled open this time, and Mayuzumi tilted his head to look at the younger teen, a question forming on his tongue, but it only took one look before it was caught in his throat.

Kuroko's head was tilted towards the sky, large blue eyes glimmering like the stars themselves. The light from the stars above reflected stunningly across his doe-like eyes. His face was still devoid of emotion, but Mayuzumi could've sworn there was a tiny upturn of his lips. With the combination of the dryad's song, the idyllic atmosphere, and the lighting of the clearing, Mayuzumi's breath was stolen.

As he caught himself staring at the other, he jerked his head away, feeling a faint heat rise in his cheeks.

He let himself fall down into the field, back hitting the grass forcefully. "…They're a sight to behold," he commented, but knowing he wasn't fooling himself about his feelings. He pulled the flower crown over his face.

The senior then noticed his crown was made of petunias, entwined together in a complex knotting pattern.

What did petunias mean again?

_'Oh, right.'_

Anger and resentment.

But in other situations, _'I find your presence soothing.'_

He reached another hand to cover his eyes as he took in a large, but silent breath.

_'How do I even know that?'_

* * *

A/N: Thank you, Feynelle-san for the stargazing idea, huhu. I made my first bold step in this story!

Hmm…I wasn't sure whether to change Akashi's eyes back to normal in this setting. For what I'm planning, the nicer Akashi wouldn't work. So I hope it's okay that I'm keeping him as Bokushi .

I'm also planning to make Akashi play a huger role in this story. Of course, MayuKuro is endgame (or will it? Heheh) I need to know if you guys want one sided MayuAka or AkaKuro, though. I cannot have it be MayuAkaKuro or else all my plans for this story will derail, super sorry. ;w;

I'll say that AkaKuro will be easier to write, since I understand their dynamics more...but it's mainly up to you guys!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Oh boy, I got even more supporters for this story, I'm so glad, especially since I love writing this! Once again, I'm sorry for the delay. While I mentioned I'd be busy for MiraclesWeek, I'm not too confident in posting what I've done for it (it's not writing). I'll keep debating, but I really don't like how it turned out *hides*

Enough dawdling, on to the fic!

AkaKuro won by a longshot, no one even voted for MayuAka, lol. Anyway, thank you to all the new followers, favorites, and reviews! Kiru-Kiru Chan, ben4kevin, Bashy Bunny, Swtazngrl5, BrokenWings66, Ize09, Feynelle, AkaKuroandgom, nony, gou! Thanks to nony and gou, I can't reply to you two so I must do it here. You guys are great, it means a lot!

**Warning:** This chapter contrasts from the serenity of the last, the dreams turn a bit scary. There is violence, so beware of blood. Unless this is your thing, then I suggest putting on some creepy soundtrack when Kuroko starts dreaming. ;)

* * *

"A lonely night, and a lonely me. If you'd notice, we're just two in this world."

* * *

Just how much weirder were these dreams going to get?

Kuroko lied in bed as he stared up at the ceiling. Last night's dream was still replaying in his head, and while it was nothing less of pleasant, he was bewildered that he managed to dream up all that. Everything from when he was led deeper into the forest, until he stargazed with Mayuzumi remained fascinating. He could even still feel the stems and petals between his fingers from crafting the flower crowns.

He had woken up feeling refreshed, like he had hibernated instead of lucid dreamt. That itself already added to the list of growing suspicions that these dreams were beyond abnormal. He didn't know much about other people's accounts of lucid dreams, but he was certain it didn't have any healing properties upon waking up.

Speaking of other's experiences, he was going to ask his friend about these dreams.

Kuroko stood up to rummage through his bag for his cellphone. He pulled it out, only to see that it was out of power. Right, he was too tired to charge it last night.

He slid open the drawer of his nightstand, finding the phone charger neatly twined up. Attaching the charger to his phone and placing his phone on the tabletop, he plugged it into the socket. Spinning around, he neatly rearranged his pillow and straightened out the covers. Taking a glimpse at his clock, he found he had enough time to shower before school. A hand reached up to the top of his head and felt around. Hopefully a shower would help his bedhead.

He tried powering his phone on first. Sending a text to Momoi before his shower would give her time to answer, and he could debate where they could meet each other. Momoi wouldn't have had any interest in dream analysis when her priorities were to collect info on opposing basketball players, so Kuroko doubted that she knew much. He knew that they'd need to meet soon, so maybe tomorrow, Saturday? He'd also need time to take the initiative to do his own research on dreams. He nodded to himself, deciding to just ask to know her own versions and input on dreams.

Through his thought process, his phone powered on. Hastily, he sent a text to Momoi.

"Good morning Momoi-san, if you have some spare time this weekend, I was wondering if you have time tomorrow to meet," he typed, shutting his phone.

Standing up, Kuroko went to the bathroom to battle his hair.

* * *

[Oh, of course! I'm definitely free tomorrow. Where and what time should we meet up? ヾ( ^▽^ )ノ] was the reply from Momoi, and Kuroko noticed he received it not too long after he sent his message. As he toweled his hair dry, he sent his own reply.

[I was thinking I could meet you at your school. If you'd like, I can take you to a restaurant where I'd like to discuss something. Please do not let Aomine-kun know about this.]

[Sure! I'll make sure to keep this a secret from Dai-chan. If you don't mind me asking, what is it that you'd like to talk about?]

Kuroko paused as he read the new message. It was now or never, and he really needed someone like Momoi to help him with this.

[I wanted to talk about dreams I've been experiencing recently.]

[Dreams? What kind of dreams? Oh, please don't tell me they're nightmares! Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||) If they are nightmares, I take sleeping pills to sleep dreamlessly and deeply.]

Kuroko stared as he processed the message. Was Momoi implying that she got nightmares often?

[No, I'm not having nightmares. But it sounds like you are. Are you okay?]

[Um, I used to get nightmares a lot…They started around my third year in middle school, but they died down a while back.]

Kuroko felt that he knew the cause. After all, he had his few shares of sleepless nights in his final year of middle school. He stared sullenly at the message from Momoi.

[I'm sorry to hear that. It's good to know that they've lessened.]

[What kind of dreams were you having?]

[I've been having weird dreams as of late. I don't want to discuss this over text, since there's a lot to cover. I wanted to know your input on what they could mean.]

[Ah, I see. Well, I'll be glad to help, Tetsu-kun! I don't know much about dreams and what they can imply, but I'll do my best! (๑ ‿ #)ᕗ]

[Thank you, Momoi-san. I'll see you tomorrow then.]

[Until tomorrow!]

With that, Kuroko snapped his phone shut and pocketed it. He made his way back to the bathroom, sighing tiredly at his still messy hair. Even with a shower, it was still sticking up every which way like the top of a pineapple. Maybe today it would cooperate by just a comb through.

As he began to comb his hair, he pulled on his gakuran and zipped it up. The comb was fighting with a knot in his hair when he heard his mother call him down for breakfast. He made a few last tugs at his hair, untangling some pesky knots, before making one last glance at his reflection and going to the dining room.

* * *

A blue brow raised in interest at his childhood friend. The two were walking towards their school, when Aomine noticed that Momoi was staring a bit too intently at her cellphone. He peered over her shoulder at her peculiar behavior. "Who are you texting, Satsuki?"

"Eep!" Momoi jolted, hurriedly attempting to stash her phone back in her bag, but not before nearly dropping it. "Nobody! No one!"

Aomine yawned, almost expecting such a reaction from her. Of course, she was smiling so giddily, there was no doubt- "It's Tetsu, isn't it? Are you bothering him again?"

After calming herself from being startled, Momoi huffed. "I don't bother him!" she pouted, then straightened as much as she could, looking Aomine right in the eye. "And for your information, he texted me first this time!" she gave a self-assured smile.

Aomine stopped as his brows scrunched together, slightly in disbelief at her words. "You've got to be kidding me. Why would Tetsu text you first…and leave me out?" he thought back to the times Kuroko sent text messages. Rarely did he ever text people, so if he did, it was pretty significant.

Momoi's superior looking smile only grew, and she whipped away and sped up her pace towards the school. "Jealous, Dai-chan?"

A vein popped up near Aomine's temple. "As if!" he stormed after Momoi. "You didn't answer my question, what did Tetsu text you about?" he gave an accusatory glare.

"I'm not telling~" was the singsong reply from Momoi before she began skipping away.

"Oi, Satsuki!"

* * *

Looks like he was right.

Silver eyes blinked blearily at the passing scenery outside of the crowded rail train. Having no room to sit, he could only stand and grip the train handles dangling next to his head.

Being tall had its perks.

How long had he been riding the train? Through his cloudy mind, he momentarily noted that the next stop was his. Mayuzumi's head was filled with thoughts of last night. Every time he tried to push it away, new unwanted feelings arose in him. At least now he knew that he really shouldn't be swinging a sword around in his unconsciousness. He got plenty of sleep, yet it still felt like he was kept up all night completing his work.

Which he still didn't complete.

He stifled a yawn. It wasn't much of a struggle waking up this morning. He had enough time to do some work, but inevitably, there were still a few pages of his essay that he needed to write.

He mentally groaned as he remembered the new sentiment he had discovered for a certain blue haired brat. He's already dealing with his own school's kouhais, he didn't need to start eyeing one with interest, let alone from another school.

It just had to be one whom he had no real basis for liking, even.

Not after the final match at the Winter Cup. At least it wasn't anything big. He would not accept letting his feelings get out of hand. He just thinks Kuroko's a good person, that's all. Bothersome, but less so than his own kouhais.

Great, this still meant the dreams were getting to him.

He was about to rudely voice his frustrations out loud, only to be interrupted by the chime and announcement denoting his stop. Without needing to turn his head, he heard the train doors sliding open.

Heaving a sigh, he shuffled his way through the crowd and braced himself for another long day.

* * *

"Phew…"

Aomine plopped down behind a concealed piano in the music room. It was a great place to hide. Momoi wouldn't ever guess that he'd be in here.

After pestering Momoi for the whole first half of school, Aomine had finally given up.

Or… that's what he would've done, had he not got the bright idea to steal it from a conveniently unattended bag.

Really, it was just a spur of the moment, but nevermind that. Now, to the issue at hand.

He reached into his pocket of his pants, pulling out a familiar pink device. It was good that Momoi left her bag on her desk at the beginning of lunch break. He really wasn't good at that stealth sort of thing. That was more Kuroko's field of expertise.

With suppressed excitement from the adrenaline that coursed through him after sneaking away, he quickly, but silently flipped open the phone.

Momoi really needed to put a number lock on her phone.

But luckily for him, now he can see what Momoi's been up to with Kuroko. With bated breath, he clicked through the messages to find the earliest one from Kuroko.

As he meticulously read each text, his eyes widened in incredulity at the words reflected on the tiny screen. Finishing, he paused in thought as he processed what he had read.

_'Tetsu is asking Satsuki out on a date.'_

_'Tetsu is taking Satsuki out on a date?'_

_'No, not a date, dumbass!'_

Even without it being a legitimate date, something stirred deep within him. But what was he getting so worked up over? It wasn't his concern about what either Momoi or Kuroko did, especially not after they've already gone on an official date. Besides, the messages he read seemed to say it was more serious than a date. Dates were usually carefree and casual outings. This looked like Kuroko was asking Momoi for a favor.

He reread a few messages, squinting as he thought. Kuroko was definitely asking for some advice or clarification, and Momoi definitely seemed like the type capable of these situations. But wouldn't it be better anyway to ask a teammate? Aomine has definitely noticed how close their team is, so wouldn't they be first choices? Or maybe Kuroko had already sought help, and was now beginning to search elsewhere.

All of this was more trouble than it was worth, though. Aomine could feel his brain frying by the second. Maybe he'd tag along in secret, just to put his mind at ease.

He shut the pink phone, only now realizing that he needed to slip it back into Momoi's bag before she noticed.

Stepping out of the music room, he checked to see if the coast was clear, before shooting off back to their classroom. If he didn't accomplish secretly dropping her phone back into her bag, he'd get an earful later.

Nearly screeching to a halt outside their classroom door, he once again peeked carefully in to see any familiar locks of pink hair. Releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding at the lack of Momoi, he tried casually maneuver his way to her seat with her bag. There were only a few people in the classroom during lunch, but he tried to be inconspicuous in surveying his surroundings. Slipping the phone carefully back where he found it, he whipped around to go eat lunch.

Not before he bumped into a head of pink hair, though.

Resisting the urge to jerk away, Aomine nervously tried to inch around Momoi to the door.

"Dai-chan, have you seen my phone? I thought I left it in my bag, but I couldn't find it."

Aomine paused, realizing that she didn't see his earlier actions.

He looked away from her. "…'Dunno, sure you didn't just lose it? Might've been swallowed up by that bag of yours."

A pink brow rose, and Momoi 'hmphed.' "You're no help," she made her way to her bag on her desk, and Aomine's eyes glued to the bag. She filed through to discover it stashed between her notebooks. "That's weird…I could've sworn it wasn't here before…"

Aomine let out a silent breath of relief. "Good for you, I'm gonna get lunch now," he waved lazily behind his shoulder and walked out the door.

* * *

The senior couldn't work like this.

It was lunchtime, and he was on the school rooftop reading his light novel as usual.

But he didn't think spacing out every five words counted as reading.

Light novels never failed to take his mind off the real world. It was just him and a good piece of literature. He didn't have room to worry about schoolwork, kouhais, and above all, about baby blue eyes.

Well, if he couldn't focus on his light novel, then he might as well try getting a wink of sleep in.

He draped his open light novel over his face as he leaned back against the fence. Letting his eyes slowly droop, silver eyes were completely shut, drifting into unconsciousness.

"Mayuzumi-saaaan!"

Oh for the love of-

"Mayuzumi-san!" came another shout from Hayama.

He wasn't even going to bother. As long as he kept the book over his face, Hayama shouldn't be able to-

"Ah, there you are!" footsteps padded closer, stopping in front of him. "Hey, wait, you asleep? Hello?"

Maybe if he ignored him-

"Earth to Mayuzumi-saaaan…" he could hear Hayama shift, and before he knew it, his book had been lifted off his face.

"So…you're into these kinds of books, huh?" he heard a page being turned and an inquisitive hum follow. "It's…" there was a silence as he grasped at words, "unexpectedly cute," he gave a friendly chuckle, and with his eyes still shut, Mayuzumi heard Hayama begin to wave his book around.

"Still not going to say anything?" the pages of the book flapped as he spoke in a bored tone. "Cold as ever, man. Well, I'm just here to tell you that Akashi needs ya," he said with finality, and Mayuzumi felt Hayama drop his light novel back onto his slightly displeased expression.

"See ya!" footsteps retreated, and the rooftop doors opened and slammed shut.

Slowly, a hand reached up and pulled the book back from his face, silver eyes blinking open. For maybe the nth time that day, the senior suppressed to urge to groan. There goes his chance of getting some much needed rest. What does Akashi want now?

He slipped his light novel into his back pocket, and was reminded of the first dream where Kuroko showed up. Similarly, he'd need to descend the whole school to reach his destination, as Akashi would be in the student council room, if not the lunchroom.

Mayuzumi ambled down the stairs.

* * *

"Think you can do it?"

"Yes. Please watch how much I've improved."

A basketball drummed against the well-polished, gym floor. The dribbler made quick, successive twists of the body. He danced with the ball, and one could tell that an admirable amount of practice and effort had gone into this display.

A hand grabbed the ball in midair, pushing the ball upwards to aim for the hoop.

Only to stop short, the ball bouncing off the rim and shooting back to the ground unimpressively.

"Ah."

…

"Don't give me that! Improvement my ass, you just made a few more unnecessary flashy moves!" was the annoyed reaction from a fiery redhead.

A jovial laugh pushed away the prior outburst. "I found the moves to be rather cool looking, Kagami."

Kagami gave Kiyoshi a look that said,_ 'where on earth would that be considered cool?'_

Kiyoshi just grinned and turned to Kuroko, giving his full support. "You just timed it wrong. You didn't wait to let the ball reach its peak in the air, so watch out for that."

Having already picked up the ball again, Kuroko cast a weary glance back. "Thank you very much, Kiyoshi-senpai. I'll keep that in mind."

"What's with the moves all the sudden? Last time I checked, you were more interested in getting your shots in, not pulling fancy moves," Kagami held his hands up, asking for the ball. Kuroko gave an Ignite Pass, and Kagami caught it with ease, charging forward for a dunk.

Looking down at his palms, Kuroko thought about it. It was strange for him. He usually wasn't able to put the extra effort like that. "I think it's a result of the amount of sleep I'm getting."

"Didn't you say to Riko yesterday that you weren't getting enough rest?" Kiyoshi stared worriedly.

"Oh, did you message Momoi already?" Kagami asked, spinning the ball on his index finger.

"Momoi? Why are you mentioning her, Kagami?" Kiyoshi turned a now confused gaze to the other.

"Kuroko's been having unusual dreams. I suggested to him yesterday to talk to Momoi and see if she knows anything."

"Unusual dreams?"

Kagami gestured with his chin to Kuroko.

"I've suddenly started to experience lucid dreams. I can recall in great detail of every event, like I had never been dreaming at all," Kuroko's eyes flickered to the ball spinning on Kagami's finger, seeming to contemplate spilling something. "…I left out the bit that there was another person in the dreams from Kagami-kun."

Kagami halted, ball slowing as he let it spin on the back of his knuckle. With a flick of his wrist, the ball came to a stop as he caught it in his palm. One of his forked eyebrows rose. "Who is it that you didn't mention?"

Kuroko remained hesitant, so Kiyoshi piped up. "You don't have to tell us, Kuroko. I'm guessing it might be someone who's a touchy topic?" Kiyoshi smiled reassuringly.

Kuroko's thoughts crossed to Ogiwara. He did admit, if it was Ogiwara in these dreams, he'd at least be a little less confused. But that wasn't what was at hand, so he shook his head no.

"It is Mayuzumi-san who has appeared in my dreams."

Two pairs of eyes blinked at the unexpected answer. Both expressions said nothing less of 'what the hell,' or maybe that was just Kagami, since Kiyoshi opted to speak first. "Mayuzumi? The Rakuzan player?"

"What, you still hung up over that Phantom Sixth man stuff, Kuroko?" Kagami returned to the ball, bouncing it on the back of his hand.

"I'd like to say that I contacted Momoi-san because I'm not too sure myself," his fist clenched as Kuroko got lost in his own thoughts.

"You know…they say that dreams are more symbolic than anything."

Blue eyes blinked up at the serious tone.

"Maybe because Mayuzumi happens to appear, it's referencing something else. Not necessarily that he is a reminder plaguing your dreams of the Phantom Sixth Man title, but it's more your mind telling you there's unfinished business. It also can completely depend on how Mayuzumi happens to behave in your dreams," Kiyoshi's expression immediately reverted back to its easygoing smile. "But I'm no expert. Just something I heard once from my grandmother."

"Sounds boring, if you ask me," was the offhanded comment from Kagami.

The discussion ended as Riko blew her whistle. "All right, go get changed!"

* * *

"Shit!"

Wind whipped through silver hair as Mayuzumi grit his teeth, bringing his arms over his face.

How the fuck did he get into this situation? As much as he knew it was a dream, entering them falling from the sky wasn't what he considered pleasant. He was ready to go back home, having just hitched a ride on the railway train back, and then…

No, focus on the issue! The trees below him definitely wouldn't be breaking his fall well. Quick, he needed to focus! _Change the scenery!_

What about a lake? At least that'll be better than sharp branches and-

The train floor?

He made an inquisitive sound, until he realized he was still plummeting. Spinning on one heel, he tumbled down onto his back gracelessly, grunting in pain as multiple feet scattered away from where he landed, followed by a few startled shouts.

That was embarrassing.

Standing up and brushing himself off, a woman in office attire went up to him. "Are you all right? The train suddenly stopped, I guess you didn't have a firm grip on the handles," she gave a sympathetic laugh.

The train suddenly stopped? Mayuzumi gave a swift glance outside, noting that the train was indeed coming to a standstill. "I'm fine, thank you for your concern," he gave a polite smile, "just a slip of the hand."

"I see. Well, I hope this train won't be stopped for long-"

The announcement bell rang, cutting her off. "We are sorry for the delay. There has been a problem with the overhead electrical system. It will be fixed within a short time. We would like to apologize for any inconveniences."

Mayuzumi cast his gaze to the floor, still in a slight daze at what just transpired. He pieced together the gaps in his memory. First, he fell asleep standing up, then he jolted awake because he was plummeting to the ground in reality? Or was it because it was to stop himself from potentially dying in his dream? He did read somewhere that people have a reaction to jerk awake when they're falling, although in which case, he didn't know.

Either way, he was wide awake now, his heart rate returning to normal after the rude awakening.

After a few moments, the train started up again.

* * *

The forest location again?

Blue eyes took in his surroundings, noticing that on this occasion, he wound up entering during the turn of the evening, the sun casting a warm, orange glow over the horizon. His shadow was elongating by the second on the pathway as the sun slowly set, turning almost intimidating.

Something was off.

Not like the last time when he felt the dream was deficient of a certain presence. In fact, he felt like even more were added, almost foreboding. The forest itself seemed to watch his every move for the prime moment to strike his already daunted mind. Kuroko could feel his stomach knotting up, and of all times he felt invisible, it was certainly not that way now.

The shadows of the environment threatened to enclose in on him, reminiscent of him drowning in the pool in the first dream. The shadows might as well have been drowning him, for Kuroko stood petrified as his surroundings seemed to distort further and his own heart began beating erratically in his ears.

He heard the groan of wood, and leaves suddenly shook with signs of life further in the forest. He thought he heard a yell, but he wasn't sure.

First things first, calm down. He had free will in these dreams, right? Mayuzumi had said if you focused, you could form things out of thin air.

What did he want? Maybe protective gear? Or maybe a weapon would be more sufficient.

He closed his eyes in concentration and held his hand out. He didn't trust himself to handle a sword, so how about a spear?

He focused.

And focused.

He opened up one eye uncertainly to see his hand scarce of any weapon.

Fantastic, not only could he not make objects, but he had no form of defense.

"Grr…"

Was that a growl? Panicking, Kuroko put more effort in making his spear, letting his trepidation fuel his will.

A shift.

Still no weapon.

His stomach lurched as something enormous whizzed out of the bushes. Alarmed, adrenaline pumped through his veins as he willed his legs to move, shooting off into the opposite direction.

As he thought to turn around and look at his pursuer, Kuroko's mind raced as he wracked it for solutions. If he couldn't make anything, then maybe he could manipulate the circumstances given to him?

A menacing snarl came right behind him, as if to dare him to even try.

Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, heart hammering, legs screaming in protest at the exertion. Rushing into the forest to force the creature to lose sight of him, Kuroko dodged oncoming branches as he sped deeper.

Apparently the forest hated him, though.

A vine swung down from nowhere, slapping him in the face, and time seemed to cease as Kuroko's face stung from the impact.

_Rip It apart._

Desperately, he grabbed hold of the vine, tearing it from where it hung, and blindly threw it behind him.

A deafening crack came from behind. He heard wood splintering, and then a huge crash followed, blowing him off his feet as he rolled to the ground ahead of him.

Carefully flipping himself over on the ground after catching his breath, his eyes widened as he scanned the damage.

Everything within a few yards behind him had putrefied. A tree now lied collapsed, its branches emaciated and deprived of leaves. A few more trees stood in the same timeworn condition. The shrubbery growing around had all rotted, any remains of life withered and decaying. Everything was either a sickly green or brown, and the creature that was tailing him was nowhere to be found.

Or rather, it was more accurate to say the skeletal remains now lied crushed beneath the rotten tree.

An eerie howl of wind passed through, and Kuroko felt his stomach sink.

There was no other explanation, he did that.

But, how?

He brought his hand up to his face, brushing away the dirt that had gathered. There was a fresh wound on his palm that he had failed to take heed of, which was bleeding heavily.

Hurriedly, he put pressure on the wound with his other hand. Realizing that proved ineffective, he zipped his gakuran down, pulling it off and tying a sleeve around his hand. His hand continued to press against the wound through the fabric.

He heard another distant noise, something akin to a cry of pain.

_'Mayuzumi-san?'_

Reverting his attention back to his injury, he gave a few heavier presses before untying his gakuran to inspect it.

_'Eh?'_

His hand was clear of any injury. No open wound, no blood, not any trace of a mark on his palm. Was he hallucinating? Or could he just heal himself?

Reflecting on these peculiar discoveries, he came to a conclusion, but he need to test it again for sure.

He stood up and walked over to the dead remains of the forest he caused. Putting his hand over a clump of twigs, he focused.

After a split second, he opened his eyes.

Just as he thought.

A flower had sprouted from in between the twigs, standing tall and proud amongst the deteriorating environment.

Back when he had tried to make that vanilla milkshake, it hadn't worked. He pictured making it again, and this time, realized that the air around him was freezing.

The shards floated harmlessly in the air. Using his finger, the shards followed the movement as he waved it around.

_So he could affect and change what already existed._ Time exists to be an idea in this world, judging by the setting sun. Did he change time in just one focused area? That at least explained the decomposed foliage he caused, as well as the wound he mended.

The ice melted and the water pattered to the ground, soaking into the dirt. He turned to the collapsed tree, focusing and pulling a large strip of rotting wood from it. He clenched his fist, crushing the wood into a sphere shape, slightly larger than a basketball.

_However, he could not make something out of nothing._ That's why the spear didn't work earlier.

Wood cracked somewhere deeper in the forest, and Kuroko listened as another tree tipped over and smashed to the ground.

Mayuzumi.

* * *

"Oof!"

Mayuzumi was thrown to the ground as he gasped in pain. "Shit!" he cursed, his hands clutching at his abdomen, as it continued to bleed from strain.

The smoke cleared, revealing a masked figure equipped with hand claws. Its body was shadowed over, concealed in a haze of black. It lumbered as it proceeded closer to Mayuzumi, wobbling on one foot to the other.

Mayuzumi was racked with harsh coughs, hacking up blood from the previous blow to his chest. On the last bits of energy, he haphazardly searched for anything to defend himself with.

Nothing had worked on this monster that was sluggishly approaching him. Drawing a sword hadn't done the job, and neither had a bomb.

He hissed as he put pressure on the open gash on his side that came from being ambushed by the thing. These dreams of his were leading down an unfavorable pathway. He just hoped there wouldn't be heavy consequences to his psyche upon dying in them, at least.

He had already been shocked awake twice whenever he was caught off guard by any sudden attacks. Upon first entering the dream, he crashed through the trees like he believed would've happened earlier in the train, had he not jerked awake. After being nicked by many thin branches, he landed unceremoniously on a thick branch that broke his fall from the ground. From there, it was about a fifty feet drop to the ground. When he tried to climb down the tree by a rope ladder he created, something shot out and cut the rope, leaving him to plummet once again.

He jolted awake right before breaking his neck on the ground, letting him gather his bearings. But, like an enchantress and her victim, the dreams pulled him back in soon enough.

The bright side was that upon reentering, his body was restored back to proper condition, and he was standing safely on the forest floor.

Or so he thought.

The downside was that whatever cut his rope ladder was probably the one who took him by surprise again, sending a flying kick to his shoulder.

And he once again was shocked awake, this time pausing to let his heart settle before being dragged back in.

This time, he was prepared to not let himself be surprised again.

He could've gone without the slash at his side, though.

It was deep, too. It tore through his uniform, slicing into his flesh like a hot knife to butter. The pain was unmistakable, almost searing.

After running through the forest and knocking down tree after tree, he was finally at his wits end. If a bomb didn't do the trick, there was no way he had more energy to make a better weapon.

He really hated these dreams. Ever since the brat showed up, they've only become more chaotic, and were even detrimental to his waking hours. He did attempt to remove the nuisance earlier, back when he was innocently swimming in that pool. Did he not try hard enough? Or…was there someplace deep within him that had accepted Kuroko in the first place?

Ah, well, it didn't matter. He stared up tiredly at the figure's mask. The pursuer's weapon hovered over his head, ready to deliver the finishing blow, its shadow casting over his weakened frame.

A wry smile stretched on his face.

* * *

Kuroko panted heavily, wiping gunk off from his face.

After reaching the point where an unknown figure was looming over Mayuzumi, Kuroko waited in hiding, assessing the situation before he sprang into action. Putting forth all his strength, he gave an Ignite Pass Kai to the wooden ball, expecting that it would at least deter the attacker.

His palm stung, not accustomed to the denser material of wood. That was a small sacrifice though, as the figure stumbled from the impact, only for the ball to begin sinking into its body like sap, the ball then swallowed up whole by the gunk. Like an owl, it turned its head a full one eighty, locking sight of Kuroko.

Kuroko froze, having unforeseen such an outcome. With an unwavering gaze, he concentrated on searching for the ball in the mound of black as the figure wobbled towards him instead.

Charging towards the figure, he realuzed fleetingly that he was making a rash decision, but now he couldn't hesitate. Jabbing his fist into the creature's torso, Kuroko twisted his arm at the sensation of the wood, acutely aware of the claw suspended dangerously over his head.

_Now!_

The creature exploded as it gave a shrill screech. Black gunk spurted out in all directions, splattering everywhere as its deformed body was ripped apart, gradually disintegrating away. All that remained were spines of wood that pierced the creature's body from the inside-out, and Kuroko dropped his hand back to his side, the spines retracting back into the shape of a ball.

After regaining his composure, Kuroko straightened and jogged over to the collapsed senior. "Are you all right, Mayuzumi-san?" Blue eyes took in the disheveled appearance of the other, clearly not okay. "Ah, maybe not, let me help."

Mayuzumi just gave a harsh cough, using a hand to cover his mouth.

"Could I ask for you to make a bucket, towel, and some gauze?" Kuroko asked as he seated himself next to the sprawled senior still clutching at his side.

"What, can't do it yourself?" Mayuzumi frowned, annoyed at the prospect. "You take down that thing and you can't even make cleaning supplies?"

"I'm not able to."

The senior tsked, and after a few seconds, a bucket dropped face down over Kuroko's head, towel and gauze following and landing on top of the upside down container.

"That was a bad prank, Mayuzumi-san," was the exasperated reaction from Kuroko underneath the bucket.

He missed the mischievous grin from the senior as he tilted the bucket up over his head, setting it down upright. Kuroko ignored the urge to just chuck the bucket at the senior's head, and instead focused on the task at hand. Water droplets accumulated in the air, swelling like balloons, then flowed into the bucket, filling it.

"Please take off your shirt," Kuroko requested.

"Eager now, are we?" the senior smirked.

"This is not a joke, Mayuzumi-san," Kuroko deadpanned.

"All right, all right, whatever," he grunted as he sat up, and then proceeded to painstakingly take off his blazer. Leaving it strewn carelessly on the ground, Kuroko was resourceful and folded it up.

Loosening his tie, he frowned at the blood and dirt staining it as well. Finally, he unbuttoned his dress shirt, peeling it back from his blood soaked waist.

Kuroko wasted no time, dipping the towel in, wringing it out, and began cleaning Mayuzumi's face and hands. He moved down to the gaping wound, pressing down carefully. Mayuzumi hissed at the cold, damp cloth, as Kuroko soaked the towel in the water a few more times before finishing. With a determined gaze, Kuroko began unrolling the gauze, neatly wrapping it around the wounded abdomen. Making sure it was fastened tightly, he placed a hand over the concealed injury, concentrating.

The senior's brow rose, clueless as to what the other was doing.

After a moment, Kuroko pulled back the bandages, unraveling it. He ignored Mayuzumi's puzzled protests, and upon seeing the unmarred flesh of his waist, his mouth snapped shut with an audible clack.

"How?" Mayuzumi managed, voice incredulous.

Kuroko glanced up from his work, realizing that healing such a huge gash took a toll on him. Feeling dizzy, he tried to recompose himself before answering. "I discovered the ability earlier," was all he could say for now.

Mayuzumi's eyes narrowed as he mulled something over. Something seemed to snap within him as he suddenly turned aggressive, expression fierce.

"…Why the hell do you even care?" his tone was scathing, laden with irritation. Silver eyes narrowed further, trying to retain equanimity. "This was my problem, and I don't recall asking for your support," his eyes glared heatedly, regarding Kuroko with something akin to hatred.

Azure eyes were strangely composed as they stared back, darkened by the onset of dusk. The moon began radiating into view, once again shrouding the forest with blue and purple.

"Even if you ask me that, I'm not too sure myself," Kuroko's gaze retreated to his hands, as if expecting for an answer to be hidden there if he searched long enough.

Mayuzumi lips pursed impatiently. Finally, Kuroko continued.

"It's true to say that I was not fond of you, I might've even disliked you. Seeing you tossed aside by your teammates during our match, however, was a bit upsetting," Kuroko took a shaky breath as he thought back to painful memories. "It reminded me of the days where I was…put in a similar situation. I believe that's why I'm helping now, maybe only to give me some peace of mind, even if it won't make a difference in reality."

Kuroko did not see the senior's expression go blank, silver eyes widening a fraction.

"And…even if you're only my in dreams."

Blue eyes blinked up after getting no reply, coming face to face with an unusual expression.

"…Tell me," Mayuzumi's expression hardened, "is this to satisfy your morals so as to not bother you while awake?"

Kuroko could only blink at the odd question. He did feel like it was true, so he nodded resolutely. "Yes."

A hand reached up to cover silver eyes, masking his face from Kuroko. He chuckled sardonically, which only proceeded to perplex Kuroko even more.

"… You really piss me off, you know that?" was quietly, huskily whispered by the senior.

Mayuzumi looked up and leaned over, pulling Kuroko forward with his hand by the back of light blue hair.

Silver eyes shined almost white as the moon glowed in them, blue eyes entranced by the sight at such close proximity.

And then Mayuzumi's lips met Kuroko's roughly.

* * *

"I've been waiting, should we get along well? Or rather, argue with each other or cry a lot?" – Deco *27, _Ai Think So,_

* * *

_A/N: _Looks like Mayuzumi's willing to do a lil' CPR now. *waggles eyebrows*

By the way, when Mayuzumi jerked awake on the train, what he was referring to is called a hypnogogic jerk.

I can't even type at this point, lol. My chapters are just getting longer and longer…think that'll end by the next one.

The quote is split in half. The first part is what you read at the very beginning.

Thank you for reading, it means a whole lot!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**: I forgot to mention last chapter that in Japanese schooling systems, school still is a thing on Saturdays, lol (unlike America, at least). So that's why Kuroko is picking Momoi up from Touou.

Also another thing of importance, I decided to change Akashi a bit. /dodges oncoming Akashi related screams. Now as a spoiler alert, with the recent KnB chapters, Akashi has returned to being Oreshi (Although I don't even know what the heck Fujimaki is doing anymore, it seems like it's switching back and forth wth). That being said, I decided to make my story be that way as well. I have removed that bit with Akashi confronting Mayuzumi back in chapter three, so please forget about that (not like that scene was really important anyway). Although, Bokushi will still be present, so double Akashi combo aw yeah. Hopefully whatever Fujimaki decides doesn't derail my plans any further.

**Summary:** Not so date with Momoi.

There is some KuroMomo and Aomomo in this.

* * *

He knew it.

He was absolutely right, there was no doubt.

An amused chuckle came from Mayuzumi as he sat up in bed. The sound was a bit delirious, for he really felt that there was no other way to react here.

He threw back the covers and stood up, still smirking to himself.

Placing a hand over his face and rubbing it, he pondered upon the discovery he made.

He still couldn't quite believe it.

Kuroko was in fact, the real Kuroko.

His suspicions had been confirmed. The Kuroko in his dreams turned out to be the one that experienced their first match, their one on one, and their little _accident in the match._

At first, he hadn't been so sure. Of course, he had thought nothing of it at the get go. He'd probably be going crazy if he was suspicious, but then he realized that his skepticism had formed right after Kuroko first popped up. He just hadn't noticed, since it was such a trivial idea. The first inkling he had about the dreams came when Kuroko displayed different capabilities in the dreams than him.

No, maybe even sooner than that. There's also his unexplained knowledge of flower language, with the petunias. There was no way he could've known that, since he could care less about flowers. So the only explanation was that Kuroko knew.

Expression reverting back to normal, he walked over to his computer, booting it up.

It still didn't fit perfectly, though. How would Kuroko's familiarity with the subject be transmitted to him?

As the computer powered on, he quickly pressed the Control and Escape button together, opening up the start menu and clicking on his web browser.

Entering "flower language petunia" into the search engine and clicking on the first link, he then pressed the Control and F key, finding petunias.

So Kuroko's flower language was right.

But even so, this wasn't enough proof that Kuroko was actually sharing a dream with him.

Mayuzumi had tried healing his injury, but to no avail. Well, he also didn't have the time to just sit down and concentrate, but the point was, at that very moment, Mayuzumi caught on to it.

Kuroko beginning to explain his side of the story wasn't something his own dream could conjure for himself. Even if his own mind could, it probably wouldn't be done in a way he would expect. Kuroko honestly told him all his opinions, even mentioning that there'd be no consequences in reality, and finally dreaming himself. Now, Mayuzumi woudn't be able to tell if the other was lying or not, but here, in these dreams, if nothing backfires, honesty is the only thing that's coming. And, luckily for him, he now has the advantage over Kuroko.

Still, that wasn't enough proof for such a supernatural occurrence.

It was a good idea to kiss him after all.

For one thing, his theory was proven correct. Kuroko had disappeared into thin air the instant after he forced his mouth on the other. That means Kuroko had been shocked awake, therefore proving every question that Mayuzumi asked himself since these dreams had started.

But that left one final question.

How did Kuroko find his way into his dreams?

Mayuzumi finished donning on his uniform, and knotted his tie, making a few last adjustments before he made his way to wash up.

It'd be great if the answer would just land right at his feet, if there even was an answer. It'd likely be within an ancient tome buried deep in the witchcraft archives for no soul to ever recover. Really, this whole mixing of dreams was a work of magic. What were the chances that the answer to this phenomenon was even located in Japan? He'd probably just get a bullshit answer if he searched the web, or end up abandoned in a ditch somewhere across the globe after visiting a sketchy self-proclaimed psychic that could, "read his mind."

Well, even if this remained an enigma forever, that didn't mean he couldn't take full advantage of it.

He toweled his face dry, hanging it on the bathroom rack as a devious smirk stretched on his face.

* * *

"Tetsu-kun!"

Baby blue eyes blinked up from his from his novel, coming face to face with a blur of pink, running up to and nearly pouncing on him.

"Momoi-san…it's been awhile," he spoke through a slightly too tight hug from her.

Momoi pulled back, looking joyous as ever. "It was so hard finding you, I thought you didn't come!" Adjusting her bag, her expression turned more serious as she cupped a hand to the side of her mouth. "I made sure not to let Dai-chan come along, but we have to get out of here quick," Momoi whispered, and she started scurrying away, turning left at the school gates, her shadow long with the setting sun.

Kuroko put away his novel, following with a calm pace.

"I've already done a little research on dreams. If you'd like, I can share some of my findings," Momoi reached into her bag, pulling out a journal, flipping hurriedly through the pages.

Kuroko blinked, impressed at her notes and how in depth they appeared. _'With only a one day notice as well…'_

"That would be very helpful, thank you Momoi-san," he let a tiny smile appear on his face.

Momoi became bashful, smiling gratefully. "W-well, I supposed that I needed to put some effort in this…I-I mean," she flipped backwards in her notes. "If you contacted me of all people on advice, it's most likely to be more than just serious…" she paused, turning worried. "Are you sure it's nothing?" She stopped and her eyes shifted to Kuroko's.

Kuroko had practiced. He'd turned it over and over again in his head, anything to get rid of the oncoming reaction. But alas, he couldn't help but stiffen. Last night's dream had taken a huge turn, and to say that he was befuddled would only be lightly putting it. Waking up with his breath catching in his throat was not fun and if possible, he would like to never experience it again. The only good thing is that even with all the disarray after last night's events, he felt fine while awake. A few yawns here and there, but nothing like two days ago.

"Tetsu-kun?"

Realizing he still needed to say something to Momoi, he quickly formulated a response. "There are some more things that have surfaced since last night. But it really is nothing," Kuroko began walking again, having halted when he stiffened. "Let's go."

Momoi 's vexed expression stared after Kuroko, as she trailed slowly after him.

* * *

"Right here."

Two pairs of feet stopped in front of a quaint café, surprisingly in a well-kept condition despite the many vines crawling up the worn brick structure. A sign was boarded above reading, "mosaic" in katakana, the wood worn and repainted. A large tea cup emblem made of colored glass was placed in the middle of the square window pane, a nice touch to attract customers even with the old building.

Kuroko pushed open the entrance, holding it for his friend

Momoi, in her focus on the stained glass window, asked, "How did you find this place?"

"Sort of by chance, I overheard a few classmates talking about it. They recommended it once they took notice of me."

Momoi faced the other with a cheerful expression, laughing quietly to herself as she pictured Kuroko scaring yet another few unsuspecting people. Momoi thanked the other and strolled into the café as Kuroko held open the door, and if the exterior were to already be nice, then the interior—

The floor was covered in stained glass tile, sparkling in the dim multicolored glimmer from the stained glass lanterns hanging down. Though the lanterns seemed to be mainly for show, as the real lighting was came from the light bulbs in the ceiling,glowing a soft orange. The place was finished with polished wooden furniture, leaving Momoi awestruck at the design and how well maintained it was.

"Hi there! Just you, miss?" a waitress in a high ponytail came over, a serving tray and menus in her arms.

"Eh?" was the distracted reply from Momoi.

"I'm also here," Kuroko piped up.

"Oh!" The waitress bumbled with the tray and menus, almost dropping them. "I-I'm sorry sir, I didn't see you!" she put a hand over where her heart would be, recomposing herself. "This way, please."

Momoi couldn't help but give a sympathetic smile to the waitress, before following her to their seats.

As they sat down and were handed the menus, Momoi's eyes slowly strayed towards the lovely lantern hanging directly above their table, a variety of colored spots dotting the surface of the table.

The waitress sat down and asked for their drinks before walking off, leaving them to decide on their orders.

After deciding on his order, Kuroko put the menu down and examined the place himself. Letting his eyes slide across the interior, he noted that there were only two other tables which were occupied. Not unusual, since it was a bit early for dinner, too late for lunch.

"Tetsu-kun, what do want to order?" Momoi asked from behind her menu.

Kuroko's eyes reverted back to the girl in front, just now seeing the spots of colored light in Momoi's hair and on her upper body. He suspected he was the same as well. "I ordered the garden salad."

"Hm…" pink eyes scanned the menu, finally deciding on something she hadn't eaten in awhile. "Tonkatsu curry* looks good," she snapped the menu shut and put it aside. "So!" she leaned forward. "spill the beans!"

"Are you two ready?" A polite voice cut in.

Now it was Momoi's turn to be surprised, and she sheepishly sat up straighter.

"Yes, we are. Could I get a garden salad?"

"I'll have a tonkatsu curry."

"All right, I'll take the menus," the waitress smiled and picked them up, walking away as the both of them nodded politely.

"So, it goes along the lines of this…" Kuroko started, Momoi's attention becoming rapt as she pulled out her notebook.

Kuroko began retelling all of his experiences as they waited. Momoi, being ever so patient, listened to every word quietly, jotting down some notes here and there. He only reached about halfway through the first dream before their food arrived.

As much as everything confused Kuroko, he admitted to himself that dreams were quite enjoyable. Some comments were made on the food as Kuroko continued on, the waitress returning for anything else.

Reaching the end of all the details about the most recent dream (there was no way he was telling anyone about Mayuzumi's last action), Kuroko let out a silent sigh, realizing that a lot had happened within just four days.

Momoi pondered for a bit as she placed her chopsticks down, "…When was the last time you two interacted?"

"Just at the Winter Cup," Kuroko answered, not really understanding what she was getting at. "We didn't see each other after the accident towards the end,"

"Wait, accident?" Momoi absentmindedly set her chopsticks on her plate.

"Ah, were you too far to see?"

"Well, not quite…I just realized that I couldn't locate you anywhere on the court," she had been much too preoccupied with her childhood friend having his first breakdown in all her experiences. It really was hectic at that final match. Never mind that though, back to the issue at hand. "What exactly happened, though?"

"I didn't remember all too well how it had gone, but Kagami-kun filled some holes in my memory. The one thing I remember the most at the time was that right after Kagami-kun Meteor Jammed the ball, Mayuzumi-san and I were knocked down, and our heads collided. Then all I could feel was pain in my head," Kuroko slowed his recount as he thought back.

Rose eyes widened, her drink suspended in front of her. "That's where the injury came from?!" she nearly slammed down her cup.

"Is that bad?"

"Bad, of course— well besides the fact you were bleeding, There's a theory that says head injuries relates to dreams."

Only a confused blink was her reply.

"I mean," she opened up her notebook, finding a section on the brain. "Some researchers suggest that certain head collisions to a part of the brain can influence our reflexes, as well as unconscious mind. Our cortex reacts to impulses that we get from our thalamus. Because the cortex also includes the place where you injured yourself, this could be a reason as to why you are experiencing lucid dreams."

Kuroko was silent, thinking as his eyes observed the dots on the table. "That…also might explain the weird feeling I got, amidst all the pain."

"Feeling?"

"Almost like…I wasn't myself." he grasped at words, not knowing quite how to word it. He ate a bit more of his salad. "Besides the pain, I also felt like I wasn't in my body, but watching myself be in pain. I also had to use all my power just to prevent myself from blacking out."

Momoi looked worriedly as Kuroko put down his fork and wiped his mouth with a napkin. In truth, while Momoi didn't realize what went down that day, some things still clearly resonated in her mind. What really occurred that day, possibly could only be pieced together by a great many people.

* * *

During the final match at the Winter Cup, at the last minutes of the game, too many incidents were going down all at once. One, the other Akashi without the Emperor's eye had returned. Two, because he had returned, all of Rakuzan managed to enter the zone. Three, Ogiwara appeared to the match, cheering on Kuroko and Seirin, causing for the whole audience to do so as well. Four, Kagami was able to reach the true form of the zone. And five…

Upon entering the second zone, Kagami was able to outspeed all of Rakuzan, driving past with agility that probably would have left Aomine bewildered.

However, that didn't mean that Rakuzan couldn't at least try and keep up. After all, Kagami had just a few moments before been out of gas along with the rest of Seirin, while Rakuzan still had stamina to keep going. But maybe they had tried a bit too hard, maybe Kagami had proved to be too much of a threat to them, and that's when it happened.

Akashi, hot on the trail of Kagami streaking past the rest Rakuzan, nearly caught up with the other redhead in record time. Desperate to shake Akashi off, Kagami attempted to perform a lane-up. No one could have ever beheld such a feat so great, not when he jumped into the air from the three point line. The violent force of Kagami focused only on a basketball and the opposing scores, leaped into the air, unyielding to Mayuzumi and Nebuya jumping to block his trajectory.

By then it was too late.

"Watch out!"

Kagami, with power that could rival Murasakibara's Thor Hammer, Meteor Jammed the ball in, the sheer force startling away the opposing two players, forgetting about the smallest phantom player below.

In a huge heap, all four crashed to the court floor, the shortest squashed underneath.

The referee stood paralyzed with his whistle held close, debating on whether to call time if Kagami had infringed the rules of basketball.

The bench was quiet, and it was like the audience had taken a simultaneous breath, for the stadium was next to silent.

Kiyoshi snapped out of his stupor first, being the closest. "Kagami, get up!" He bent down and proceeded to haul the exhausted redhead away, grunting in effort as he then set him down to sit.

Nebuya stood up, out of breath, but fine as ever.

The same could not be said for the two phantom players still sprawled on the ground, Mayuzumi slightly on top of Kuroko, for both were bleeding in the head.

Riko wasted no time. "Time out!" Still a bit stunned, she thought twice to bring the first aid kit, before ditching it and bolting on to the court.

Having called for time, both teams moved to the scene, huddling around the injured players.

The senior groaned, slowly sitting up and wobbling to his feet, holding the front of his head and wincing as he felt the familiar stickiness of blood. He turned to cast the fiery redhead a disapproving glance, who was still trying to summon energy himself.

Riko arrived to the scene, gasping at the sight of blood. She bent down to push Kuroko into a sitting position, careful so she wouldn't jostle him too much. She pushed back his bangs, checking his wound and pursing her lips "We have to switch you out, as much as it pains me to do so," she dejectedly said just barely above a whisper.

Kuroko grunted in pain, finally looking up to see the senior, who was glaring at him like this was his fault.

"Why the hell didn't you move?" He grit out, feeling a headache come on. Whether it was from the fall or from his rising temper, he didn't know.

"…I was merely marking you," Kuroko calmly stated back, although with a small scowl.

The two had a silent showdown, and the air was tense.

Mayuzumi opened his mouth to say something offensive, only to decide against it. Not worth the trouble right now, not with a throbbing head. "Tch," was all that could be heard before he whipped around to go back to the bench.

"I'll take Kuroko to the bench," Kiyoshi kneeled down and took Kuroko, putting Kuroko's shoulder over himself. As he slowly making his way back to their bench, Riko ran past him, searching for the first aid kit in her sports bag.

Kagami stood up and glowered after Mayuzumi's retreating figure, the senior able to sense the antipathy emitted from the redhead. He ignored Kagami as he went to go sit down himself, only for yet another redhead to join him.

Akashi followed Mayuzumi to their bench, Mibuchi, Hayama, and Nebuya all arriving soon after.

"Are you all right?" Akashi asked, standing in front of Mayuzumi who had sat down to hold his head.

"Absolutely great—couldn't be better," was the sarcastic reply, as Mayuzumi tilted his head upwards to give Akashi an unimpressed look.

Akashi patted and rested his hand on Mayuzumi's shoulder. "One of the other players should be able to help you. My apologies for not having enough time myself to do so," Akashi gave an apologetic smile.

Still unused to the change of personality, Mayuzumi couldn't help but stare baffled.

He then turned away, choosing a benchwarmer to go assist Mayuzumi in cleaning his injury. Coach Shirogane and Akashi then discussed the matters of who to sub in.

The Uncrowned Kings remained seated, all attempting to recover a last bit of stamina before the finale.

The senior stood up as a freshman walked over, a first aid kit in hand. Deciding that there was no room on the bench, they opted to head for the restrooms.

"Is Kuroko okay?" Kagami stopped over the resting player lying on the bench, Riko now wrapping medical tape over Kuroko's head. Fleetingly, Kagami thought back to a similar incident with their first practice match with Kaijou.

"He's unconscious, but he'll be fine," RIko assured, cutting the tape and securing it. "Mitobe," she called.

Mitobe straightened a bit from where he sat.

"Get ready, we're going to sub you in," Riko decided.

Only a small nod was the reply.

"Still have more energy in you?" Kiyoshi asked, gulping some water down.

"Yeah, and I'll make it last," was the determined reply from Kagami, wiping sweat off his brow.

* * *

A plate that once held curry sat off to the side. The salad was nearly gone, still being eaten at a relaxed pace.

"Would you like dessert, Momoi-san?"

Momoi's hand paused as she counted her money in her wallet, finding that she was short on cash. "Eh? Oh, I can't pay for it though," her eyes going downcast.

"That's fine. I'll pay for everything," Kuroko pulled out his own wallet, checking just to make sure he had plenty.

"I-if it's really fine with you, Tetsu-kun…" Momoi had really wanted to order the cherry parfait, one of her favorites.

They flagged down another waiter, ordering the parfait. Kuroko just gave a miniscule smile towards Momoi, glad that when her dessert arrived, she was visibly enjoying it (judging by the lit up expression she had after one bite).

"It was very helpful knowing where these dreams possibly came from, so thank you Momoi-san. But the main thing I wanted to ask was if you possibly had any advice, or why you think they're happening."

Using her pointer finger to guide her in the dim light, Momoi skimmed her notes. After a moment of reading to herself, she looked up. "Well, these dreams don't seem too bad, right? Even though I can tell you don't exactly take a liking to Mayuzumi-san, he's not terrible, is he?"

Kuroko stopped himself from looking away, since that was definitely up for debate. "No, he's fine," which was half of a lie.

"If you ever are bothered by the dreams, I can give you sleeping pills to sleep dreamlessly."

Now that sounded interesting. "I would like that."

Momoi finished her parfait and turned back down to her notes to flip through. Something seemed to catch her eye, as she perked up. "Ah! Tetsu-kun, there are some people that say dreams prepare us for threatening situations, because we most frequently are able to remember nightmares. Dreams that are scary, or we experience anger, anxiety, or…abandonment," she trailed off, dark memories resurfacing.

Kuroko felt that he knew exactly what she was recalling. There was practically only one thing that could bring forth that expression. That distant forlorn demeanor that everyone got after facing the Generation of Miracles in their third year, the sense of loss that you got when there was nothing to do about it.

"You had me really worried there, Tetsu-kun," Momoi tried changing the topic, looking down at her napkin and fiddling with it. "All of the sudden you were hurt and Imayoshi-senpai was the one who filled me and Dai-chan in."

"I'm sorry about that, Momoi-san."

"Mou…" Momoi pouted. "Dai-chan was worried sick in his seat! He kept on denying that though, like you would expect, but his leg wouldn't stop jiggling," Momoi heaved a halfhearted sigh, a smile making its way on her face. "But after the match, when everyone was gathered round for celebration…" Momoi leaned forward, propping her chin up with her palms. "it really seemed like we were all friends again."

Surprised, Kuroko looked up at the sentimentality in her voice. He set down his drink, appetite gone, but replaced with a warm feeling in his chest. "You're right," he looked down at the table, lost in his own thoughts. He seemed to struggle with something, as his fists clenched at his sides. "And…Momoi-san."

"Hm?"

He needed to do this.

"…I never got to apologize for lying back in middle school, and it's much too late, but…I'm very sorry that I made you cry," Kuroko faced Momoi with regret, knowing it'd be just shameful if he didn't look her straight in the eye.

Momoi looked up, thrown off. "Eh?"

Kuroko's gaze didn't waver.

"Tetsu-kun…" Momoi's eyes watered, as she swallowed down the urge to cry, feeling the lump in her throat. Pausing to make sure her voice would be stable, she quietly said, "You're talking about that promise, right?"

Kuroko nodded, the air becaming tense and gloomy, as one of them tried to approach the subject.

"…It hurt, you know? When everyone started drifting away," there was another pause. "It made me wonder, that if I could've played basketball with you guys…could it have turned out differently?" She sniffled, but no tears fell. "But I'm so glad…that things could wrap up this way."

"I'm glad as well," Kuroko thought back to all the memories of this year, all the practice, all his teammates, and all of his friends.

He gave a fond, secretive smile.

* * *

In the end, Kuroko took a teary eyed Momoi back home, having spent plenty of time at the café in discussion,

By the time they stopped in front of her house, Momoi had returned to normal, not including the slightly red face. She rummaged through her bag, finding her keys. "Thank you for taking me out today, Tetsu-kun. I had a good time," she gave a reassuring smile. "And, before I forget, please take all of my notes. It's going to benefit you more if these dreams of yours continue," handing the notebook to Kuroko, the other accepted it thankfully.

"I'm glad you at least enjoyed yourself, and thank you again for all of your advice, I'll put it to good use," Kuroko gave a rare smile saved for the special moments.

Momoi returned it, blushing a bit, before saying goodnight and turning to enter her home.

…

"Please take care of Momoi-san, Aomine-kun. I think you can also tell that she's was holding back."

Silence was the only reply Kuroko got.

_'And that's fine.' _Kuroko thought, walking away to catch a bus home.

* * *

A figure hidden not so well in the darkness of the bushes was stiff, even after the footsteps of a certain phantom had retreated.

_'How the hell did Tetsu know I was here?!'_ Aomine nearly rasped out loud. He had made sure to stay out of sight the whole time! He was even crouched down and nearly camouflaged! Just how long did Kuroko know?

Ah, well that wasn't his main priority now, as his eyes rolled over to the neighboring house. Leave it up to Kuroko to be able to read everyone.

He sauntered up to the entrance, turning the doorknob and finding it unlocked.

_'Damn Satsuki…'_ Too caught up to even lock the door?

He slowly wedged open the door, finding a pink figure sitting on the couch, face masked by her hands and muffling sobs.

Aomine mentally groaned, already pretty tired of following them around the whole day, and this comfort thing really didn't suit him. He slowly walked over to where the girl sat, not noticing him.

"Satsuki," he said gently, watching as Momoi went rigid, sniffling. He carefully set his hand on her head. "Wanna go shopping tomorrow?"

Momoi slowly nodded, and she hiccupped.

* * *

**A/N: 1) **Tonkatsu curry is pork cutlet curry.

I can't believe this chapter took this long to write, wow. Was having a hard time deciding over what to include and leave out, ugh.

Also, please go check out the MayuKuro fic 'Euterpe' written by my friend April! It's so great it'll make your heart wrench _( :'3


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